Heart and Mind
by Peter Smith
Summary: My next point-of-view story feature's everybody's favourite genius, Billy Cranston! In "Heart and Mind", Billy is struggling to find the perfect engagement ring to propose to Trini … a task not helped by the underground menace of the Troll King, and the orbiting threat of Prince Gasket. What do these two monarchs have in store for Billy and the Rangers? Reviews welcomed! :)
1. Chapter 1

_Author's notes – Hey everybody! Happy New Year! I'm committed to finishing my series of POV stories and writing the remaining four characters (Zac, Trini, Scott and Sarah). The last couple of years I've written very good stories, but they've all taken a long time to get through, so hopefully 2016 will see me get through a few more. This story is Billy's chance to shine._

 _Continuity? In my series, the original MMPR team stays as Rangers, so reaching Zeo means that Billy is blue, Trini is yellow, etc. Zac would have a black suit as Zeo Ranger 4, which means the green costume would shuffle down the line to become Scott's (I think I'd keep Jason as gold/black and Tommy as red, though). I was always putting off writing Billy's story, because I knew a story told by Billy means lots (and lots) of complex Billy-speak, and it's a very difficult thing to get right. I admire the skill of the MMPR writers for managing Billy's dialogue for about four years! But I had this great idea for Billy's story. I figure, Billy's overall character arc would be him growing as a person (coming to terms with his incredible intelligence and learning to accept his emotional side as well). So this story is the epilogue of that tale, the end result of Billy's journey. I hope you enjoy it :)._

 _A couple of other things also inspired me here. I use another of my original villains (a villain I really like). Writing_ The Impossible Boy _, I realised that the nerdy Rangers are great at solving problems and building things, but they don't get many badass moments (like Jason or Tommy or Sarah), so I wanted a story where the geeky Rangers get to be total badasses. Also, I recently read complaints about a superhero franchise where two of the characters were romantically involved (people were complaining that it made the characters weaker, and demeaned them somehow), and I just thought that was so ... ridiculous. Every day, beautiful and amazing and powerful people fall in love, and this is_ good _thing! So my response was to write a story about my favourite Ranger couple (well, favourite after Jayden and Antonio, giggle). Anyway, enjoy the tale! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Unknowns make for bad science.

I say that often to my friends. Probably too often, actually, now that I really think about it. But it's a rule I've lived by every day of my life. After all, what is a new day other than challenges to meet, puzzles to solve or mysteries to untangle? What is science itself other than taking unknowns and transforming them into knowns? And believe me, I've lived through more than my share of days like that.

Apologies. I'm being long-winded again. It's a constant battle.

It's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is William, William Cranston, but my friends have always called me Billy. I've never minded. The nickname made me feel like I was part of the group, and I was grateful to my friends for giving me that.

Oh, and I'm the Blue Power Ranger. I probably should've started with that one, shouldn't I?

Years ago on a quiet Saturday morning, I'd just finished a friend's karate class when the world changed forever. The planet came under attack from an alien sorceress and her legion of malevolent magical creations. I can still picture it so clearly, standing there in the Youth Centre with four of my best friends before teleporting to a protected stronghold deep in the desert. Once there, an interdimensional wizard named Zordon revealed his secret designs for us to become a team of superheroes. We turned him down initially, although I deeply regretted walking away. There was something in Zordon's voice that stayed with me, a sincere belief that the five of us could accomplish anything. I was grateful when the offer was repeated later that day, and when I received my Triceratops Power Coin, the world became so much bigger and more amazing than I ever thought it could be.

Time passed and the team grew with friends and allies, here and far away. Late last year, another quiet morning heralded another threat from beyond the stars. It was an empire of machines this time, robotic conquerors with a ruthless contempt for organic life. Another challenge to rise to, another chance to show the human race at their most resilient. With a little assistance from an ancient magical crystal, of course.

And at some point between the alien invasions, the environmental catastrophes and all those extra-dimensional incursions, I fell in love with one of my best friends.

Her name is Trini Kwan.

Trini is the most amazing, intelligent and compassionate woman I've ever met. We grew up as friends, and it took us years to realise how much we meant to each other. Truthfully? I'd always considered love to be something of an abstract concept, a whimsical notion that couldn't be measured or quantified, which left it irrelevant to any scientific paradigm. And while I still struggle to understand my feelings, when I'm around Trini, it's like she completes the pieces of me that I never realised I was missing. I don't know how else to explain it.

It's a common joke amongst the team that fighting monsters and dating are totally incompatible. I still remember the early stages of our courtship when our dates were constantly interrupted by disasters or aliens. But Trini and I have always worked well together, and I suspect that's one of the reasons we make such a good team. Whenever there's trouble, I'm always stronger when Trini is standing beside me.

Like today.

The Machine Empire had launched a surprise incursion against a high-profile scientific institute located in Johannesburg. They'd only sent a small squadron of cogs and not a monster, but the robotic soldiers still presented a serious threat to the residents of the city. Most of the other Rangers were currently off-world, gathering information we can hopefully use to finally defeat the machines, but Zordon summoned Trini and I. Once we'd morphed into Zeo Rangers two and three, Alpha had teleported us to South Africa, and we'd confronted the army of cogs on the street in front of the building.

Blocking a punch from the left, Trini struck the cog away with a blow to the chest before spinning to the right, summoning her Power Daggers with a thought and carving them across the chest of a second attacker, sending the robot crashing. "What do you think they were after, anyway?" she asked.

Across the street, I stepped to the side as one of the cogs swung its staff for me, catching the weapon when the cog tried again and kicking the robot away. Behind me, I saw several cogs closing in on a group of scientists trying to flee the building, so I reached for my sidearm to keep their attention on me. "I'm honestly not sure," I called. "At least King Mondo was predictable. With Gasket, your hypothesis is as accurate as mine."

It was true. King Mondo's plans had tended to be very linear and organised. Although we'd destroyed him recently, I doubted very much we'd seen the last of him. However, his first-built son Prince Gasket had recently arrived to claim the vacant throne, and Gasket had turned out to be far less predictable. He rarely approached problems directly, and his methods were increasingly difficult to discern. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

"Still," Trini continued, gazing around at the pile of broken cogs littering the street, "I think we managed to stop them. On your left Billy."

I instinctively spun to the left with a powerful punch, shattering a cog's torso and scattering the remains across the pavement. "Appreciated," I said, and glanced to the Yellow Ranger. "On your right."

With barely a glance, Trini threw one of her daggers. The blade tore through the chests of two cogs before embedding itself in a third. In a flash of light, Trini summoned the weapon back to her hand as the cogs all fell over. Turning to the only cog still standing, she used one of the daggers to block the robot's baton before slicing both blades across its chest. The cog collapsed to the ground in a shower of sparks, and we were out of opponents.

"Good work," I said brightly, as the defeated cogs began teleporting away.

"Thanks," Trini replied. "Oh, and before I forget, you'll need to take your suit out of storage. The good one, with the blue tie."

"Oh?"

"Yes, it's my cousin's wedding next week," Trini continued, knowing full well I'd probably forgotten. Which I had. "You're my plus one, remember?"

"Your…oh, a wedding?" I stuttered. "Right. Of course. Right."

Trini smiled beneath her visor. "It's okay Billy, I'm not trying to drop any subtle hints," she said. "I know you need time to study all the theoretical outcomes before you make a decision. It's one of the many things I like about you."

I nodded and raised my wrist. "Shall we head back?" I asked.

"I think we're finished here," Trini nodded. "And for the record? When I do start dropping hints, they won't be that subtle."

I laughed, and the two of us disappeared from the scene in two bright flashes of blue and yellow.

* * *

Almost four hundred thousand kilometres above our heads, Prince Gasket made his way across the rocky lunar landscape, his footsteps quiet in the thin atmosphere around the Machine Empire's skybase.

With the castle behind him, Gasket gazed around the empty terrain with his glowing yellow eyes, taking in every stone without really seeing any of them. The robotic prince could've calculated the mineral composition of every rock in a fraction of a second, analysed the debris fields of meteorite strikes or even determined what kinds of cosmic radiation the stones had bathed in over the years. But the silent beauty of the landscape was lost on him. On all sides, the prince saw nothing organic to be despised for its frailty, nor the perfect design of purpose-built machines. There was just rock, a resource to be used and discarded at will.

Stepping over the rim of a crater, he looked up to focus his attention on the blue orb hanging in space before him, slowly turning on its axis and still as out of reach as ever. A hundred feet away, Gasket's most recent project sat in the shadows of a tall lunar cliff, covered by a lattice of metal scaffolding. But Gasket's vengeful gaze remained fixed on the planet before him.

How long he stood there, he didn't know. But presently the sound of footsteps reached him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see his robotic bride Princess Archerina approaching from the castle.

"I hear word of another failure," she trilled, and rested a hand on her beloved's shoulder. "The Rangers thwarted another brilliant plan, I gather?"

Gasket stepped to the side, shaking off Archerina's hand. "I was most displeased," he replied. "But cogs can be rebuilt easily enough. Even the ones I disassembled, although that may take longer."

Archerina gazed back to the construction site on the lunar surface. "Still, what a waste of an exquisite plan," she said, then paused. The cogs were still busy at work, climbing over the scaffolding and diligently finishing the prince's designs. "But why are the cogs still working, my love?"

"Like the accursed Zeo Rangers, you have a habit of underestimating me," Gasket replied icily. "And I do not appreciate it from _you_ , either." With that, the prince walked away.

* * *

A few days later, I woke up early and listened to the birds outside for a few minutes as I contemplated the day ahead. The only thing facing me on the desk across my room that I hadn't built myself was a small framed photo. The six older Rangers had been hanging out in the Youth Centre one afternoon shortly after Tommy's arrival, when Kimberly had given Ernie her camera and asked him to take a picture of us.

We looked so young.

I've been considering the future a lot lately. Trini and I were both in our fourth year of tertiary education. Trini has another year, while I'll graduate soon. I've already been approached by a number of potential future employers, and while I'm not sure how to integrate my future career with my life as a Ranger, it's reassuring to know I have options. In any event, I've got months to consider them.

Particularly given what else I'm considering.

See, back in Johannesburg when Trini reminded me about her cousin's wedding, I wasn't laughing nervously to mask any latent fears regarding asking for Trini's hand in marriage. The truth is, I was laughing nervously because I'd been searching for an engagement ring for weeks now.

Thinking of Trini again, I smiled and got ready for the day.

Heading downstairs, I went into the kitchen to make breakfast, with a pot of fresh coffee for my father and freshly-squeezed orange juice for myself. A message from Zordon yesterday had indicated the other Rangers would be returning from their mission today, and I was eager to learn what they'd uncovered. Plus, I'd just put the finishing touches on the automatic fruit-squeezing machine I'd been working on, and I was still trying to iron out the kinks.

I was sitting at the counter jotting down notes about the juice machine when my father stepped into the kitchen, stopping to wrap an arm around my shoulder.

"Morning Will," he said, and reached for the coffee pot. "How's the juice?"

I regarded the glass before me. "Still too pulpy," I replied, and shook my head. "Even on the lowest pulp setting. I'm not sure why."

"I wish you'd just let me go and buy a new juice machine myself. They're cheap enough, aren't they?"

"Not when I can build you one for free from the spare parts I already have in the garage," I said, and Dad laughed.

My father and I have always been good friends. He was my inspiration and my role model, growing up, and he deserves much of the credit for the person I am today. My mother passed away from a particularly-aggressive terminal illness many years ago when I was very young. I don't remember much from that time, but I remember silence. From that point on, my father had to raise me on his own, a job I didn't envy. I can't imagine the challenges he faced as a single parent, challenges that would've intensified that day when I was four. It wasn't that I'd dismantled the vacuum cleaner to see how it worked, but that I'd put it back together twice as powerful as before. I remember that, upon discovery, my father had smiled with helpless delight and wondered what on Earth the future held in store for both of us.

From a very young age, I can vividly recall a stream of approaches from any number of institutes and scientific facilities, all wishing to recruit me. My father would tell me about every offer, but he must've seen how daunted I was. One night, I tearfully confessed that I had no wish to be trapped in a room with people older than even him. I've thought about that often over the years. I genuinely don't believe it was that I lacked courage. Rather, I lacked the support network of peers to receive that courage from. My father must've realised this too, and enrolled his academically-talented son in a local school alongside students my own age. The rest, as they say, is history.

"I heard you get up early," Dad continued. "I thought there might've been trouble."

"No, not today," I said. "I do have plans, but hopefully they don't involve saving the world."

Dad smiled. "Hopefully?" he repeated.

"It's been quiet ever since the attack in Johannesburg," I replied. "When this much time passes between incidents, it's rarely a good omen."

"Well, I'll keep an eye out for you."

The morning when Zordon gave me the Triceratops Power Coin, the first thing I did after returning home from the battle was to tell my father that I was the Blue Ranger. I realise that breaking one of Zordon's fundamental rules may not have been the best cornerstone to build a superhero career on. But when I confessed privately to Zordon that I'd told my father about being a Ranger, he said to me he understood. My father and I had always been honest with each other, and I couldn't and wouldn't lie to him, not even about this. Dad's initial reaction wasn't ideal, but I can imagine what a shock the revelation must've been. In any event, he made his peace with the news. Over the years, I've been able to count on his support no matter what.

"Hopefully you won't need to," I said.

Dad paused to finish his coffee. "And how goes your either project?" he asked. "Still searching for the right ring?"

"I am yet to find a solution that matches all the parameters," I said softly. "It's taking far longer than I'd anticipated. It's very frustrating."

"I'm sorry to hear it," Dad replied.

"Hope isn't lost yet," I said. "There's one jewellery boutique in the city that I haven't tried. That's my goal today. I've been obsessing over this particular detail for weeks now. I have to accomplish this. It's an important part of proceedings, after all."

"I know you're a stickler for details," Dad began. "Why not take along a second opinion? You said most of your friends are out of town at the moment, but surely there's still a few of you holding down the fort, so to speak."

I sat back in my seat. "Peter and Scott remained behind along with Trini and I," I said. "And, logically, it would make sense to seek out a fresh perspective on the dilemma. That's an inspired idea," and I downed the rest of my orange juice. "Thanks Dad."

"You're welcome," Dad replied, and I stood up to embrace him. "Good luck Will."

"I'll see you this afternoon," I said. Grabbing one of the croissants, I jogged out of the room.

 _To be continued._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's notes – Hey SupernaturalCSI! Thanks for the compliments! :) It was great to hear from you. I'd have to say that Jason is probably my favourite character (which is probably not a secret), but I think my favourite character to write is definitely Billy. He's so interesting, as a person. The comedy and drama is built right in, and that's what I adore about him. I really wanted to do Billy justice, here (particularly in terms of the story. The plot had to be complex enough so that Billy would solve it, but not so impossibly-complex that it would look like he was pulling stuff out of thin air), but I also really wanted to write a really cool love story (and I don't write many of those). Confession? I have a soft-spot for Scott, too, and I found there's some great humour in the character when I was writing_ Heart and Mind _. I always focus on Peter and Jason's friendship (which you see in_ The Impossible Boy _and_ Identity _)_ , _so I thought that showcasing Peter and Scott's friendship (alongside Billy and Trini's relationship) would be really good._

 _Anyway, enjoy chapter 2! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

I quickly called Peter and Scott and asked them to meet me in the city. Scott and Peter were the only two Rangers apart from Trini and I who'd volunteered to stay back while the rest of the team was off-world. The younger Rangers were all in the twelfth grade currently and I remember how stressful that had been. But it was the weekend and luckily neither of them was particularly busy, so they were both eager to help.

I drove into town and found them waiting outside the jewellery boutique, greeting me with friendly waves as I approached. Scott's colour when Zordon had originally given him his Brontosaurus Power Coin was a lighter shade of my own blue. While this may have led to some unfair expectations and unfavourable comparisons, Scott always seemed to take it in his stride. With his boundless energy and natural curiosity, I've come to see him as the younger sibling I always lacked. Beside him stood Peter, our Orange Ranger. The leader of the younger team of Rangers, Peter is quieter and more reserved than Jason. While not as comfortable in a lab coat as Scott, Trini or myself, he is passionate and artistic, and his creativity is something I've always admired about him.

"Hey Bill," Scott called as I reached them. "Here as promised."

"It's good to see you," I replied. "I wasn't interrupting anything?"

"We were just studying," Peter said. "You know, catching up on some homework."

"And?" Scott prodded.

"And watching cartoons," Peter added.

So what's the emergency?" Scott asked. "Has Gasket gotten into the designer jewellery business?"

"Not quite," I replied. "I require your assistance today, and I'd greatly appreciate it if you kept this in the strictest of confidences." I glanced to Peter. "You can't tell Jason," I said, then turned to them both. "Or Teresa," and I finished by looking at Scott. "Or Dustin. I know how effective the Ranger grapevine is as a communication network. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't vitally important."

Peter's face fell as he realised the severity of the situation. "Of course Bill, of course you can trust us," he said.

"Yeah," agreed Scott. "Whatever you need."

I lowered my voice. "I'm planning on proposing to Trini, and I need…" but I got no further.

"Bill that's awesome!" Peter shouted, and he sent me a high five which I returned with a smile.

"Congratulations, that's great news!" Scott added, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "I mean, I know she hasn't said 'yes' yet, but still."

Peter couldn't seem to stop grinning. "So why are we here in front of a jewellery shop?" he asked.

"The reason I called you," I replied. "I've looked in every establishment in Caloundra except this one, and I cannot find an appropriate engagement ring. There's a certain methodology to choosing the right ring, and so far, it's escaped me. Nothing's fit the parameters of what the perfect engagement ring should look like. I was hoping your input might provide me with a fresh perspective." I sighed. "An engagement ring should be as timeless and as beautiful as the woman who will theoretically be wearing it. So far, I've been unsuccessful."

I expected them to admonish me for over-thinking the situation. Instead, Scott ushered me towards the front of the boutique. "Then it's a good thing you called us," he said. "But do you know her size? How'd you ask without telling her?"

I reached into my pocket and held up a small silver ring. "I quietly borrowed this from her last week," I explained. "I've noticed she wears it often, so we definitely have her size."

The three of us stepped into the shop and the frosty air-conditioning washed over us. As the door closed behind us, sounds from the street faded away, and our footsteps were soft on the luxurious carpet. All around were glass display cases filled with gold and silver jewellery. I could see rows of expensive time pieces and beautiful necklaces with sparkling jewels. It seemed to be a busy morning. All the sales assistants were quietly helping other customers, but the dark-haired woman closest to the door told us as we passed she'd be with us shortly. We gazed around the room.

"There they are," Scott said, pointing to a counter on the right. A sign on the wall behind the display read 'Engagement rings'. "That's us."

The three of us stopped in front of the glass cabinet and gazed over the range of rings on display. They were all beautiful, but nothing caught my eye at a cursory glance.

"You see anything in particular?" Peter asked.

"Negative," I frowned.

"What about this one?" Scott asked.

Peter and I found him staring at an exquisite silver ring set with a diamond that was frankly enormous.

"Wow," Peter breathed. "It's big."

"But you can barely see where the _Titanic_ hit it," Scott replied, then blushed. "Sorry. I've really been missing Brendan lately."

Peter looked at the price tag. "Good eye Scott. You picked the most expensive ring here."

"Well, weddings are a billion-dollar industry," I said

"Still," Peter continued. "This is like the deposit of Jason's house. Are you sure you can afford this?"

I've never told the other Rangers, but over the years I've sold several of my inventions and patented more than a few of the others. The money I earned sat in a trust fund quietly gaining interest until I turned eighteen. Logic dictates the necessity of having savings to fall back on as you move from college to a career, but friends don't discuss finances with other friends. It's impolite.

"I've been saving for some time," I replied honestly. "Unfortunately, that was the easy part."

"Well it's definitely large enough," Peter said.

"And it screams, 'I'm an engagement ring'," Scott added. "What do you think?"

I leaned down to inspect it behind the glass. "I'm not sure," I said. "You're both correct. It's assuredly a beautiful piece of geology. You'd hardly know it has the same atomic make-up as graphite." Standing behind me, Peter and Scott shot each other knowing grins. "Perhaps I need to see it out of the display case. Uh, miss?"

The sales clerk who'd greeted us earlier had just finished helping a young lady purchase a gold bracelet. Catching my eye, she smiled and made her way around the room. But just as I opened my mouth to speak…

…our communicators beeped that familiar six-note chime.

I tell you. It's always the most inopportune moment. If I had a dollar for every time that communicator had interrupted something important, I could've purchased that entire boutique with change to spare.

Peter's face fell, while Scott looked helplessly from me to the ring and back again. "Oh come _on_ ," Scott groaned.

The lady behind the counter glanced from Scott to me in puzzlement. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Uh, we'll, um," I stuttered, then sighed. "We'll be right back," and the three of us dashed outside, then down the neighbouring arcade and into a deserted alley.

Peter raised his wrist. "We're all here," he said. "Go!"

"Rangers, I'm sorry to interrupt," crackled Zordon's voice, "but we have a situation that requires your attention. I've already contacted Trini at the university."

"Hey guys," came Trini's voice. "Where are you three today?"

The three of us glanced around awkwardly for a few seconds, everybody thinking quickly but nowhere near quickly enough. "Ah, we're, we're just…here, hanging out in the city," Peter eventually said. "You know, doing nothing special." I had to stifle a laugh, while Scott rolled his eyes, flashed a thumbs-up and mouthed the word, 'smooth'. Peter glared at him. "What?" the Orange Ranger whispered.

I leaned forward. "Zordon," I said quickly, "what's the emergency?"

"Unfortunately Rangers, it's not what, but where," Zordon replied. "I'm afraid your next destination will be Mount Mitchell."

"Mount Mitchell?" Peter repeated, glancing around the group. "That's not good."

"Zordon, what happened?" Trini asked.

"A short time ago we received a call from a forestry ranger working in the Main Range National Park, the bushland preserve protecting Mount Mitchell," Zordon replied. "It's probably best if he explains it himself. Hold the line, Alpha will patch him through. His name is Joshua Bowman. We performed a background search after he contacted us, and he seems genuine. I've no reason to question his motives."

There was a second of silence before we heard an unfamiliar voice through the communicator. "Rangers, are you there? Hello?"

"We can hear you Ranger Bowman," I said. "Tell us what happened. Take your time."

On the other end of the line, the forestry ranger took a breath. "Um, hi everyone," he began. "I'm still quite new. I've only been here six months or so. I'm sorry if I messed this up, but when I started, my boss told me one thing. If there's a problem with Mount Mitchell, crack open the safe and use the radio inside. I didn't realise it was a direct line to you guys. That's something to tell the kids."

I smiled patiently. "Tell us what happened at Mount Mitchell," I said.

"Right, sorry. This morning there was a minor earth tremor on the western side of the mountain. It was so minor that nobody even felt it. I didn't even realise it myself until I checked the seismograph here in the station. The funny thing is that no other station recorded anything out of the ordinary today. It was just this one."

"That is odd," I murmured.

"You don't think it was an earthquake?" Scott asked.

"Negative," I said. "Not if it was so minor that it only affected one side of a mountain."

"It's a good thing you called us, Ranger Bowman," Trini said. "Mount Mitchell isn't the problem, but immediately below the mountain lies the Troll King. He is the sovereign ruler of a small, subterranean kingdom. We've encountered him before, and he bears a permanent grudge against the surface world."

"It doesn't help that every time he invades, we have to kick his butt," Peter added.

"We haven't had any trouble from the Troll King in months," I said. "We assumed his kingdom was at peace."

"Yellow, do you think we'll have to make a road-trip?" Peter asked.

"We definitely need to investigate," Trini replied. "Ranger Bowman, get the word out. Evacuate the national park. Tell the campers and hikers to leave and then close the gates behind them. You need to make sure the Main Range Park is empty, as quickly as you can."

"Wow," the forestry ranger replied. "So this is serious?"

"Hopefully we're over-reacting," I said. "But it's far preferable to be safe rather than sorry. Yellow, we'll meet you in the national park," and I turned to Peter and Scott. "Let's depart gentlemen," and we reached for our wrists and teleported away.

* * *

Fields, roads and towns flashed under us in a wild blur as we shot towards our destination. A second later, the three of us materialised in a grassy field on the western side of Mount Mitchell.

Trini was already there waiting when we arrived. As we glanced around to get our bearings, she waved and jogged across the field towards us. Nearby, the mountain towered over the surrounding terrain. Dense green rainforest surrounded the peak on all sides, and the top of the mountain rose high above us, protected by four sheer rocky cliffs. It was a warm autumn day, and in the back of my mind, I'd already begun identifying species of birds by the calls reaching us from the forest. It's a nervous habit, but I've found it keeps me grounded.

One thing I learned early on about being a Ranger is to keep both your feet firmly planted on the ground.

"Hey boys," said Trini. Before she could say anything else, Peter stepped forward.

"Were you able to get away from the university?" he asked.

Trini nodded. "The study group I was running could get by without me for a few hours," she replied, and looked around. "I was just thinking before you got here that I can't imagine there was an earthquake here today."

"It seems way too peaceful," Scott agreed, gazing around the valley.

"I think we should split up and have a look around," Peter said. "Scott and I will head to the top of the valley, and you two go that way. But stay in contact. If there's radio silence for longer than a minute, we'll assume something happened."

"What are we looking for?" I asked.

"Anything weird or out-of-the-ordinary," Peter replied. "If it wasn't an earthquake that set off Ranger Bowman's seismograph today, then what was it?"

"Something weird," Scott repeated, then pointed. "Like that?"

The rest of us turned to look. A short distance up the slope, a small clearing was visible through the trees. Facing us from the far side was a rocky wall with a shadowy cave that led directly to a dark tunnel behind. I raised my wrist.

"Alpha," I began, "are there any natural cave systems on the western side of the mountain?"

"Negative Billy," Alpha replied. "At least, not according to our records. Why?"

"Because I suspect we've found our first lead," I said. "Let's go."

We climbed the hill and carefully made our way through the forest towards the cliff face. As the clearing opened out around us, I gazed down at the rocks scattered through the grass, and my face fell. Kneeling down, I picked up one of the smaller stones and turned it over in my hand, running my gaze carefully over the blackened burn marks. Beside me, Trini did the same.

Because of how the team operates, we've all gotten very skilled at analysing explosions, and the scorch marks on the debris were unmistakeable.

"Something definitely blasted its way out of that cave," I said.

"You're right," Trini agreed. "But an invasion force? That cave entrance is awfully narrow, and there's no way an army trampled through this clearing two hours ago."

A few metres away, Scott and Peter stepped closer to the cave. "Hey guys," called Scott, "check this out!"

Trini and I joined them at the cave entrance. The fissure in the rock was small but still wide enough for a human to enter. Inside, the tunnel was slightly wider than the hallway in my house, extending back and disappearing into shadow after a short distance. But I glanced into the tunnel entrance and looked at the ground. "Curiouser and curiouser," I murmured.

"You see it?" Peter asked.

I nodded. "The rubble _inside_ the cave has the same scorch marks," I said. "But look at the pattern of debris. And there's far less of it, too. Someone quietly broke into this cave before breaking back out again. But why? For what purpose? Being baffled is so maddeningly unproductive. Alpha, can you follow the tunnel with our scanners?"

"Only for a short distance," Alpha replied. "The tunnel seems to extend deep under the mountain. The Troll King's own magic is probably blocking our sensors."

"There's nothing for it then," Trini said. "Billy and I will have to follow the rabbit hole and see where it leads. The Troll King could be planning an invasion, he could've kidnapped somebody, or this could be an elaborate trap. None of which we can rule out. But we need to figure out what's going on."

"What do you think you'll find down there?" Scott asked, and glanced to the opening. "Smaug?"

"We could take him," Trini replied.

"Do you want us to stay here?" Peter asked.

"Affirmative," I replied. "We don't know what we're facing. It'll be reassuring if we don't have to worry about what's behind us."

"Hang on," Scott began. "With the Troll King's magic, using your Zeo powers will be like a neon sign."

"Which is why we'll go in unmorphed," I said. "Alpha, can you send us two of the underground exploration packs please?"

It was an idea we'd collaborated on several years ago. We'd worked through a string of successive missions where we'd needed to explore unfamiliar terrain without the luxury of being able to morph. So it made sense to assemble equipment we could use if the need rose again. While the Rangers often look to Trini, Scott and I for answers, one of the many talents of our mentor was to ask questions nobody ever thought to ask. With Zordon's guidance, we'd put in place many systems for when we were restricted from morphing, or where it might be disadvantageous for Earth's Power Rangers to be seen interfering in a delicate political situation, which is more often than you'd think.

For example, the packs I asked for contained torches, matches and a beacon to enable emergency search and rescue. There was a limited supply of oxygen and compasses for use in zero light, as well as scanners which not only told us our depth beneath the surface, but also kept an eye on the ambient oxygen levels.

"Right away Billy!" Alpha replied. With a flash of light, two backpacks appeared on the ground before us. Trini and I reached in and pulled two flashlights out before swinging the backpacks around our shoulders.

"Teleporting will likely be affected so far underground," I said. "But in an emergency, our Zeo morphers should still work."

"Good luck," Scott said, and hugged Trini.

"Be careful down there," Peter added. "The Troll King's realm isn't exactly a nice place to visit."

"We'll be back soon," I said. Trini and I turned to the cave entrance. We swept our flashlights through the opening and saw nothing beyond rocks and pebbles. The cave floor was smooth with only a small amount of gravel. Taking a breath, I stepped out of the sunshine into the shadows. My footsteps echoed on the rocky floor as Trini followed a step behind me. And as the boys watched us go, the two of us were swallowed up by the darkness and disappeared from view.

 _To be continued._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's notes – Brankel! Good to hear from you again :). I'm glad you're enjoying the story :). In most of my POV stories, I took the opportunity to have the characters explore some really cool location somewhere on planet Earth (like Norway in_ Powerless _, Greece in_ Lost and Found in Greece _and_ The Impossible Boy _, the South China Sea in_ Omega _or even a scene over Antarctica in_ Identity _). So I'm continuing the trend here, with the Rangers exploring not a cool place above ground, but a fantastic location about a kilometer_ below _it. Enjoy chapter three! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

The air was cool and still as Trini and I followed the tunnel away from the hillside and ever deeper under the mountain. As far ahead as we could see, the tunnel stayed about two metres tall and just as wide, providing ample room for Trini and I. We could've walked side-by-side if we'd dared, but by this point we were firmly in Ranger mode. The trip was silent, save for our steps on the pebbles beneath our shoes, and the sounds of equipment jangling in our backpacks.

The natural light ran out after the first hard turn, but our flashlights had enough charge to last for hours. We stopped for a minute to clip extra lights onto our packs before continuing. While the tunnel swung sharply left or right several times, there were no intersections or alternate paths, so the route was easy enough to follow. But while never outrightly steep, the passage always angled downhill. After following the tunnel for half an hour, I was certain Trini and I were deep underground, a fact our scanners quickly confirmed.

"No excitement yet," Trini said, playing her torch along the rocky ceiling. "Thankfully."

"Even so," I said, gazing around at the tunnel walls, "my inner geologist is doing handstands at the moment. This is a fascinating exploration of a subterranean environment I doubt many people have seen."

Trini glanced to me with a smile as we continued exploring the passage. "This whole mountain range is remnants of a shield volcano that was active, what, twenty million years ago?" she asked.

"Thereabouts," I replied. "From the look of it, I'd say the rock is mostly basalt with a bit of trachyte thrown in as well."

"Do you think we'll find any crystals?"

"Negative," I replied. "Quartz is rarely found in trachyte. Tridymite is not uncommon, although from what I recall it's usually in such small quantities we'd need a microscope to see any. Opals are a distinct possibility, as well as…" but I caught myself. "Sorry. I'm monologuing again, aren't I?"

Trini laughed. "It's fine," she said. "Opals you say? Kim sure picked the wrong mission to be off-world for." We continued on in silence for another few minutes, then Trini spoke again. "The cave's kind of beautiful in its own way," she said softly. "Do you think the tunnel was here originally?"

"Possibly," I said. "But the passage would've been much narrower." I shined my torch ahead to a sharp left turn, and nodded to the jagged edges of the tunnel wall. "Going by how sharp those rocks are, the tunnel must've been artificially widened or enlarged. And unless I'm mistaken, quite recently. How's our air looking?"

Trini checked the scanner in her pocket, and her face fell. "Curiouser and curiouser," she said. "The oxygen levels are well within safe parameters. It looks like the air down here is almost as fresh as it was back on the surface."

I shined the torch on my watch. "We've been walking for almost an hour now," I said. "That is odd." I stopped to check my own scanner to confirm Trini's readings, but she was right. I slid the scanner into my pocket, about to reply when I froze.

"Billy?" Trini asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Do you hear that?" I asked. The faintest noise was coming from somewhere up ahead. Trini held still to concentrate, and I realised what I was listening to. "That's…"

"…running water!" Trini said. "C'mon!"

The two of us ran on ahead. But in our haste, we'd gotten about underground acoustics, and it was only after sprinting for another few minutes that I realised the water was much further away than it sounded. We slowed to a jog before continuing, and after another few minutes, the tunnel opened out ahead of us. The sound echoing back through the passage was almost deafening. With our torches held high, Trini and I stepped out of the tunnel into an enormous natural cavern. We gazed around in wonder. The cavern roof was high above our heads and covered by pointed stalactites. A two-storey house could've easily fit in the cave with room to spare. In the centre of the cavern was a fast-flowing underground river. As we got closer to investigate, I saw that the river emerged from a rocky outcrop at one end of the cave, and flowed into a narrow tunnel at the other.

"Be careful, it's slippery," Trini warned as we approached.

I reached into my backpack for a thin metal device as Trini explored the river bank. Kneeling by the river's edge, I dipped the device into the water for a few seconds before retrieving it to check the readings. The current was surprisingly strong. "Look at that," I murmured. "That's pure fresh water. This river could've been here for a million years." But looking again, I saw dark shapes swimming in the water and pulled back sharply. Fish. Even here. I shivered involuntarily and stood up.

Trini pointed her torch at the rocky wall opposite. "Check it out," she said.

A hole in the rock about the same size as the tunnel we'd been following was facing us. "There's no other way out of the cavern," I said. "That's our path."

"There's some rocks up here," Trini said. "I think we can cross safely."

We picked our way across the stream, holding each other's hands for balance. Safely reaching the other side, we were about to continue when the ground suddenly shook.

"Uh oh," I said.

An angry roar echoed through the cavern as an enormous cave troll charged out of the shadows, swinging its giant fists towards us. The beast was seven feet tall and almost as round, a towering behemoth of muscle and animal rage. Its face was twisted in a terrifying snarl, revealing jagged white fangs and yellow eyes beneath two fearsome horns. We raised our torches defensively and backed away as the troll closed in. But with the cave wall behind us and the troll in front of us, we had nowhere to go.

"We can't morph!" I said quickly. "It'll give us away!"

"What do we do?" Trini asked.

The troll lurched forward with its arms outstretched, but I raised my torch and it backed away.

"Either we retreat or go for a swim," I said, and glanced to the stream. "Neither option sounds appealing."

The creature leaned forward again and Trini shone the torch in its face. The troll roared and covered its eyes. _Wait a second_. Stepping forward, I looked closely at the creature's face. Of course. That's why it hadn't attacked us yet!

"The light!" I said.

"What do you mean?" Trini asked.

"The creature lives in an environment that's totally devoid of natural light," I said quickly. "It's a natural weakness. Look!" I shone my torch in the creature's eyes and the troll backed away warily. Taking a step forward, I raised the torch again, and the troll retreated even further.

"Get the…"

"On it!" Trini replied. Grabbing the spare torch out of my backpack, she switched it on and threw it to me. I shone the light straight for the creature's eyes and it howled in pain. Even as the troll stumbled back, Trini reached for her own spare torch. Switching it on, the entire cave lit up. We could see a large hollow in the cave wall the troll had emerged from minutes ago. Keeping the torches aimed for the creature's eyes, we advanced on the troll, forcing the beast back with every step. Finally, holding up an arm to protect its face from the light, the troll moaned mournfully and lumbered back into the cave, soon disappearing from view.

We switched the torches off to conserve the batteries and headed back for the tunnel.

"Well there's your excitement," I joked.

"You're not wrong," Trini breathed. "Let's get out of here before it comes back."

We stepped into the tunnel and headed away from the underground river. The tunnel remained level, sloping very gradually down. After a few minutes of walking in silence, Trini turned to me. "Do you suppose the troll was like a guard dog?" she asked. "Protecting a secret entrance to the Troll King's realm?"

"Let's just hope nobody heard him barking," I said. Looking ahead, the tunnel seemed to widen into a larger cave again. But there was an odd shadow at the cave entrance, even when I pointed the torch away from it.

I motioned for Trini to come to a stop beside me. "Turn off the torches for a second," I said. Trini shut her torch off then switched off the lights clipped to her belt. I held still, expecting total darkness, but there was an eerie green glow flickering out of the cave ahead.

"What's that?" Trini asked.

"I have an idea," I said. "C'mon," and we jogged into the cave.

This cavern was long and narrow, with another crudely cut tunnel facing us a short distance away. But the cave was lit up with a soft green glow, and I turned to the walls and saw I'd guessed right. The rocky walls were lined with fungi and mushrooms, glowing brightly in the darkness. There seemed to be several different species along the walls and across the ceiling. Trini stepped forward in wonder.

"Bioluminescent fungus," she murmured.

"They usually grow in the rainforest," I said, "but these species must've adapted to live underground. They bring light to the Troll King's realm as well as keep the air clean. They're probably hyper-evolved to soak up carbon dioxide. How extraordinary."

"Let's save the batteries and keep the torches off."

"Good idea," I said. We stowed the torches back into our packs and continued, guided by the eerie green light. It wasn't as bright as our torches, but there was more than enough light to get by. Immediately ahead of us, the tunnel opened out again after only a few metres.

"I wonder where this leads," Trini said.

Reaching the entrance, I stepped through and let out a low whistle as Trini joined me. "I'd say this is where the trail ends," I said.

We'd emerged in a small cave, roughly the size of the central chamber of the Command Centre. The walls were jagged natural rock, but the ceiling high above us had been carved and sculpted. The cave was lit up thanks to the fungi growing around the walls. Across the room stood two gigantic stone doors that seemed to be sealed from the outside. On my immediate right was a stand of weapons, all decorated with precious gems. Beside Trini was a pile of what I initially thought were loose rocks, but I quickly saw they were uncut gemstones, piled together in a heap. There were similar piles of jewels on all sides.

Trini turned to me. "Are we in…?"

"The Troll King's treasury?" I finished. "It certainly looks like it."

"But this is too small to be the full amount," Trini said. "I mean, I wasn't expecting the treasury of Erebor, but there'd have to be more than just this."

"Possibly this is the king's private chamber?" I suggested.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Trini asked. "That tunnel wasn't built for an invasion…"

"…but for a bank robbery," I said. As we started exploring the room, I glanced back to the Yellow Ranger. "But what could've been taken? It doesn't look like anything here has been disturbed recently."

"Let's have a look around, but quietly," Trini said.

I smiled. "Being discovered in the Troll King's private treasure chamber would _not_ look good for us, no."

As Trini searched the piles of treasure, I pulled a camera free from my backpack and scanned the room, capturing digital images to upload into the Command Centre's databanks when we returned. Suddenly Trini raised her voice.

"Billy!" she called. "Look at this!"

I stowed the camera away and crossed the room to where Trini was standing. A rocky mantle had been carved into the wall between two towering stone columns. The mantle was bare except for a divot in the centre where something large had rested. Trini glanced at the layer of dust over the rocky shelf, then ran a finger over the space beside the indent, revealing no specks of dust at all.

"Something _was_ here," she said. "Something large, and not too long ago."

"That has to be what was stolen," I said. "It's the only thing out of place in this whole room."

Suddenly, voices outside echoed into the chamber, and the doors shook slightly as they were unlocked. My eyes flew wide, and I glanced around the room to the stone column on the nearest side of the rocky shelf. With no other options, I grabbed Trini and pulled her close into the shadows behind the column. Pressed together against the wall, we held our breaths and kept completely still.

The enormous stone doors swung open, and we heard two pairs of footsteps stomp into the room. The footfalls were heavy and loud, and I could only guess at the size of their owners. I couldn't see around the column and couldn't risk moving, but I caught a glimpse of two large figures. I glanced to Trini and saw the same look on her face. Two is okay. With the element of surprise, we can deal with two opponents. That's not so bad.

Which is when two more pairs of footsteps arrived.

"Anything?" asked one voice.

"What's it look like?" grunted a second. "Told the King the thieves aren't likely to try again, are they? He's in a right rage though. Normally I don't even patrol this side of the city."

"But you heard the gatekeeper troll," came a third voice. "What was he roaring at?"

"Probably his own bloody reflection in the river, the halfwit," the second voice replied. "There's nobody here. The treasury's as empty as it was before." Trini and I didn't move as the footsteps stomped back out of the room. There was a thud as the doors shut, then the click of an ancient lock. We let out relieved sighs.

"They're gone," Trini said. We stepped away from each other and looked around just in case. But we were alone.

"That was a close call," I said.

"Should we keep moving?" Trini asked.

I nodded, then with a smile, I leaned in and kissed Trini on the cheek.

"Billy! We're on a mission," Trini said. "Keep it professional!"

"I haven't forgotten," I replied. "My affection doesn't wane just because the world needs saving. If anything, I find the opposite is true."

Trini laughed lightly. "C'mon Blue Ranger. Focus."

"I believe we got what we needed," I said. "And the guards confirmed it. Somebody broke into the Troll King's treasury and stole whatever was on that mantle. I don't think we're going to learn much else down here."

"And we don't know how long it is between patrols," Trini added. "We should get back to the surface."

"Agreed," I said. We glanced around the room to make sure we hadn't left anything incriminating, but as I turned back to the tunnel entrance, I froze.

"You've got that look," Trini said softly. "What are you thinking?"

I pointed to the cave entrance. "The passage we followed down here is a reasonable size for us, but for any other creature?" I began. "The trolls and ogres in the Troll King's service are all quite large, and that tunnel would've been hopelessly impractical for any of them to use."

Trini regarded the passage. "I see what you mean," she said. "The tunnel was dug quickly by human-sized trespassers who would've had no concept of fear or claustrophobia, not to get this far underground."

"Exactly," I said. "They were methodical and precise."

Trini's face fell as she realised what I was saying. "Like machines."

"And that doesn't make me feel confident about this one bit," I added.

"Then we need to get back to Zordon as soon as possible," Trini said.

Pulling our torches free in case we ran into the troll on the way out, we took a breath, climbed back into the tunnel and left the Troll King's treasury behind us.

 _To be continued._


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's notes – Thanks for reading everybody :). Welcome to the halfway point! Back in_ Powerless _, I teased that eventually, Teresa and Peter would figure out their mutual attraction and grow closer (an observation lampshaded by Aaron, when he points out that it's about time the White and Orange Rangers figured out what everybody else had known for years). Which puts Scott in the situation of watching his sister and his best friend fall for each other. And writing Scott in this story allowed me to find that Scott actually has quite a sense of humour about the whole thing. Anyway, enjoy chapter 4! Feedback welcomed :)._

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

Outside the cave entrance, Scott paced back and forth in the clearing while Peter sat on a nearby boulder, glancing from his watch to the shadowy tunnel and back again.

"I can't believe Bill's gonna propose to Trini," Peter said. "I always figured they would, but still. It's so romantic."

"I'm more worried that we have to keep it a secret," Scott said.

"I know! We're like the worst secret-keepers on the whole team," Peter added.

"Speak for yourself, Mr I can't go two days without showing somebody my face."

"Hey!" Peter replied indignantly. "It's not always my fault, you know, sometimes." He paused, deflating. "No, that's fair."

"Still, it'll be nice to go to a wedding that doesn't turn into a wild brawl."

"It's not your fault you have a big family," Peter said.

"I do love a good wedding," Scott said, then visibly brightened. "Speaking of which, when are you gonna marry my sister?"

Peter's eyes went wide and he almost toppled backwards off the boulder. "Dude!" he shot back. "We haven't even, I mean, we're only just…dude!"

"I'm sorry," Scott laughed. "I love it when your voice gets all high and squeaky like that. Still, I'm serious. And none of this prioritising your best man crap. I'm equal billing with Jason! I know, but I've known you longer. If he gets the ring, I get the buck's party. That's how it's gonna be."

"Wow," Peter said. "You haven't thought about that at all, have you?"

"I'm just saying."

"I'll book you and Dustin in at the reception," Peter said.

Scott grinned, about to reply when their communicators beeped. Peter immediately stood up and crossed towards the Green Ranger. "Zordon," Peter said, raising his wrist. "We're here. Trini and Bill are still underground, but there's no sign of trouble."

"Unfortunately, trouble has found us," Zordon began. "A Machine Empire monster just touched down in the centre of the city with a squadron of cogs, not two minutes ago."

"We'll teleport back to Caloundra right away," Scott said.

"No," Zordon replied. "They're in Brisbane."

Peter glanced to Scott. "That's closer to us, at least, but why?"

"Brisbane has a population of two million people," Scott said. "Is anyone hurt?"

"So far there's only been minor injuries and some mild property damage," Zordon said. "The city is enacting its evacuation procedures as we speak. The centre of Brisbane should be locked down in a matter of minutes."

"And the target?" Peter asked.

"There doesn't seem to be one," Zordon said. "We're watching the squadron now, but we can't identify a pattern. They're just attacking randomly."

"That is weird," Scott said. "The Machine Empire always has a specific target."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Peter asked.

"That they're trying to lure us out?" Scott asked. "Hell yeah I am."

"Alpha and I suspect that as well," Zordon said. "What's your next course of action?"

"See what they want and spring the trap," Peter replied, and high-fived Scott.

"Good thinking," Zordon replied. "Alpha and I will keep an eye on Billy and Trini. I don't like splitting you up, but you're needed in the city. This can't wait."

Peter turned to Scott. "You ready?" he asked.

"Let's do this!" Scott said, and held out his arms.

"You got it," Peter said. "It's morphin' time!"

"Zeo Ranger nine, green!"

"Zeo Ranger ten, orange!"

And morphing in two bright flashes of light, they teleported away.

* * *

Brisbane's city centre quickly evacuated as the Machine Empire monster and the army of cogs rampaged down Queen Street, leaving a trail of fiery destruction in their wake as crowds of screaming citizens fled before them. With an orange and silver body, a red jackhammer weapon on one arm and a shiny silver miner's helmet, the robotic beast smashed a shopfront to ruin before firing the lamp on its helmet for an abandoned car by the side of the road, reducing the vehicle to scrap.

Further along the street, a young family stepped out of a department store and gazed around in bafflement at the destruction around them, when they saw the monster and screamed. With no clear path to safety, the young mother pulled her two sons close. The monster let out a metallic roar and thundered towards them, just as twin blurs of orange and green shot past the family. Materialising on the street, the two Rangers slammed their fists into the monster and launched the robot back.

Scott turned to the family. "Get to safety!" he shouted. "Go!"

The younger of the two boys peeked past his mother's legs. "Thank you!" he squeaked, and they raced away.

Scott looked back to Peter as the monster recovered. "What's the deal?" the Green Ranger asked.

"Digster, from the looks of it," Peter replied.

"I thought we scrapped this guy last year?" Scott asked.

"Maybe they're giving us the Machine Empire's greatest hits?" Peter suggested. "This one seems even friendlier than the last version."

"Then let's junk this one too," Scott said.

Across the street, Digster stomped his metallic boot with rage. "Cogs!" he roared. "Get them!"

Scott summoned his Power Staff with a thought, while Peter called his Zeo Power Sword to him in a second. Raising their weapons, the two Rangers charged towards the crowd of opponents.

One of the cogs swung its staff as he approached, but Peter leaped over the move, carving forward with his sword and sending two of the soldiers crashing in a blaze of sparks. He spun to the side, blocked a lunge from the first cog and smashed his fist into the cog's face, before a spinning back kick launched two more off their feet. Dropping to the ground, he traded blows with another two of the soldiers, blocking a blow from the left, striking away the cog on his right before slicing his sword through the first cog and instantly destroying it. A few metres away, Scott held his ground defiantly as the robotic soldiers closed in around him. An adversary suddenly swung high with its staff, but Scott batted the weapon away before striking the cog back, spinning his Power Staff around to destroy two more before sweeping a fourth cog's legs out from under it and pinning it to the ground. Two more attacked from either side, and he ducked instinctively as their batons flashed past his helmet, catching one with a glancing blow from his staff before kicking the second into the side of a building.

Free of opponents, the two Rangers turned back to Digster as the monster advanced, and raised their weapons ready for battle.

The monster's head-lamp fired, forcing the Rangers to leap to safety. Peter recovered and charged back towards the monster, swinging his sword high. With the clanking of well-oiled gears, Digster ducked the blow, blocking Peter's sword with its jackhammer weapon and striking him away. Even as Peter fell, Scott raced forward, spinning his staff above his head. He struck away Digster's jackhammer and rammed the end of the staff into the monster's face. Digster staggered back in a blaze of sparks, but turned to face the Green Ranger with his head-lamp glowing. The street lit up, forcing Scott back. Regrouping, the two Rangers leaped towards the monster with side-by-side high kicks. Digster spun between the moves, catching Scott while he was off-balance and throwing him to the ground. Peter carved his sword for the monster's stomach, but Digster blocked the blow and slashed his jackhammer across Peter's chest, sending the Orange Ranger crashing.

The two Rangers warily kept their distance as the monster closed in.

"I'm really missing our team-mates right about now," Peter said.

Without warning, the ground began violently shaking beneath their feet. Peter and Scott looked around wildly as glass windows shattered and the damaged buildings along the street started to collapse. They turned to Digster and the remaining cogs, but the metal soldiers were in just as much disarray, gazing at the street in confusion as the tremor grew more and more violent with each passing second.

"What did Digster do?" Scott shouted.

"It's not them!" Peter replied. "Look! They're just as surprised as we are! This isn't them!"

"If they're not doing this then who is?" Scott asked.

Their communicators beeped, and Zordon's voice crackled through. "Rangers, watch out!" their mentor said. "This attack isn't the Machine Empire! It's the…!"

Whatever Zordon was about to say was drowned out by a deafening roar as half the street collapsed into a dark chasm that opened before them, throwing up a billowing cloud of smoke and debris. But even as the dust cleared, the ground continued shaking, far more rhythmically than before. From long experience, the Rangers instantly recognised it as the sound of an army marching as one. With Digster and the cogs still behind them, the Rangers could only watch in disbelief as an army of trolls and ogres emerged into the sunshine, marching up out of the tunnel and onto the city street. Dozens of sneering, rocky faces stared at them, with smaller goblins carrying the Troll King's banner on either side of the troops.

"For revenge against the surface scum!" one of the goblins screeched.

Peter raised his communicator. "Uh, Zordon?" he began. "Any sign of Bill and Trini? I think we're gonna need them."

* * *

Stowing our torches into our packs, Trini and I stepped out of the tunnel and back into the grassy clearing on the side of Mount Mitchell, taking a few seconds to enjoy the warm sunshine on our arms and legs.

"That's the thing about the sun," Trini said. "You don't really think about it until you're a kilometre underground."

I nodded and raised my communicator. "Zordon, are you there?"

"It's good to hear from you," Zordon replied. "And not a second too soon. I assume you and Trini made it safely back to the surface?"

"Affirmative," I replied. "There was no invasion force at the other end of the tunnel. We're working with the theory that trespassers from the Machine Empire tunnelled into the Troll King's personal treasure chamber and stole a valuable artefact. But we still don't know what it might've been."

Trini glanced around the clearing. "Where are Peter and Scott?" she asked.

"I sent them into Brisbane," Zordon replied. "The situation is more dire than you think. Not only is the city under siege by an army of cogs led by Digster…"

"Digster!" Trini exclaimed. "We should've guessed."

"…but a second army of trolls and ogres has just marched up from the underworld into the city centre," Zordon finished.

I blinked. "This seems to have gone from bad to extremely bad in a short amount of time," I said.

"We'll morph and meet Peter and Scott in the city," Trini said. "Tell the boys we're on our way."

"Just one thing before we go," I said. "Alpha?"

"Yes Billy?" Alpha replied.

"We need to figure out what's going on today," I said quickly. "I doubt very much the Machine Empire has encountered the Troll King before, but they went to a lot of trouble to steal something very specific from a heavily-protected vault. I need you to run a quick search for any unusual events relating to the underworld in the last week or so. If we can determine what Gasket stole, we can figure out what his ultimate goal is."

"Right away!" Alpha said.

Trini turned to me. "Okay Billy, let's go. It's morphin' time!"

"Zeo Ranger two, yellow!"

"Zeo Ranger three, blue!"

And in two bright flashes of light, we teleported away.

 _To be continued._


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's notes – Hey everybody! I've never written this far into my series, so of course, I had to write an action scene featuring some of the Zeo zords. I do agree with the general thought that the Zeo/OhRanger robots were some of the most beautifully-designed giant robots (up there with the Thunder zords), so I really enjoyed writing a zord battle that featured them. With that, enjoy chapter five! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

In the centre of Brisbane, Peter and Scott looked from Digster and his cogs to the trolls and ogres surrounding them, when two teleportation trails shot down out of the sky towards them. They turned to each other with relief as Trini and I materialised beside them, and the four of us immediately went back-to-back.

"You're in trouble again?" Trini asked Peter.

"It's definitely one for the books," the Orange Ranger replied. "The Machine Empire's trying to kill us while the Troll King's launching a simultaneous invasion of the surface world."

"It has been too quiet lately," Scott added. "But we're glad to see you. How was the underworld?"

"Exciting as ever," I replied. "Any clues to the Troll King's motivation?"

Scott shook his head. "They haven't said anything, although they seem really mad for some reason. Does that mean anything?"

"Actually it might," Trini replied.

Suddenly our communicators chimed. Wary of the armies facing us, I raised my wrist to my helmet. "We're here," I said. "Go Alpha."

"Rangers, I may have some answers!" Alpha began. "Billy, we followed your hunch and did a quick search. A week ago, a scroll was stolen from the 'Wonders of the Underground' exhibit at the Queensland Museum, about subterranean archaeological discoveries. Unbeknownst to the thieves, the museum staff had already made a digital copy of the scroll, which we downloaded a few minutes ago."

"Were you able to translate it?" Scott asked.

"We don't have much information about the Troll King's realm, but the database had enough for a rudimentary translation," Alpha replied. "The scroll told about an ancient underground legend, when a powerful king married a princess and united two great troll families to cement his power as the ruler of the underworld. The king's gift to his bride was an enormous red diamond, one of the rarest of gemstones."

"Wait," Peter said. "So you're telling us that the troll witch we've seen hanging out with the Troll King might actually be the Troll Queen? Wow, this got weird."

"I think it's sweet when couples do things together," Trini said.

I smiled. "A red diamond," I repeated. "That must be what the Machine Empire stole! Gasket needed a specific type of diamond for his latest scheme, and when they heard the legend of the Troll King and his beloved, they stole it from that subterranean treasury."

Scott glanced to the army of trolls, more of which were arriving by the second. "But all this for a diamond?" he asked. "The Troll King probably has thousands of them. This is kind of an over-reaction, don't you think?"

"You're not wrong," Peter agreed.

"But wait a second," Trini said, and we turned to her. "Don't look at the situation logically. That diamond was a gift to the Troll King's wife. It obviously means a lot to him. He's angry it was stolen and the only reason he's doing all this is because he wants it back."

"So the machines are fair game," Peter said. "But the diamond?"

"We have to get it back in one piece," Trini replied. "Returning that gemstone to the Troll King is the only way to stop all this."

"But why?" Scott asked. "What did they need that specific diamond for? What's Gasket gonna do with it? And how the hell do we get it back?"

"Look out!" Peter shouted. The crowd of metal soldiers and rocky trolls had grown tired of waiting and surged forward. Trini summoned her Zeo Power Daggers in two flashes of yellow light. As one, the four of us charged into battle.

Trini ran into shadow and looked up to see a pair of enormous ogres towering over her. They were both solid muscle, covered by spiked body armour with snarling jaws and glowing red eyes. They were strong and fearsome but Trini knew from experience they weren't fast. The closest ogre swung a gigantic spiked club straight for her, and she held her ground for a second before leaping lightly out of danger. The club smashed into the road and left an impact crater, and Trini raced back towards her assailant, running along the club and sending the ogre crashing with a high kick. She dropped to the ground as the second ogre slashed an enormous blade towards her. Dodging the first swing, Trini stepped around a second and struck the ogre's wrist, forcing the creature to let go of the weapon. With an angry roar, the ogre lashed out with a barrel-sized fist. But catching the creature's arm, Trini used its own weight to throw it off its feet and send it to the ground.

Across the street, Scott had found himself surrounded by a platoon of cogs. Blocking a blow with his staff, he struck one cog back, stepping to the side to send a second opponent crashing before taking the legs out from under a third. Another squadron closed in around him, and he grabbed a cog's outstretched arm to throw it away before blocking a move from the right and sending the second cog crashing with a blow to the chest. He spun back to face several more as their faceplates flipped open – the cogs fired their eyebolts and Scott took to the air as the street erupted behind him. Finding his footing, he held his staff out in front of him and channelled the power of the Zeo Crystal through the weapon, before slicing the staff towards the crowd of enemies. Power exploded from the arc of the staff and slammed into the troops, instantly destroying them.

A few metres away, Peter was battling his way through a horde of goblins and trolls. Striking away the smaller creatures as they attacked, Peter spun around to see a snarling goblin assassin striding towards him with a jagged blade in each hand. Closing in, the creature swung both blades – Peter raised his Zeo Power Sword and blocked the blades in a shower of sparks. Striking them away, he swung high, but the goblin caught the blade with one of its own and swung low with the other. Peter jumped back and over the sword, and it flashed past harmlessly beneath him. Regaining his balance, Peter pressed forward, blocking the left blade then striking away the blade on the right, forcing the goblin back as he gained ground with every step. Catching the left blade, Peter twisted it out of the goblin's hand before stepping inside the goblin's reach and ramming his elbow into the creature's jaw.

Meanwhile, Digster and I circled each other warily for a few seconds before the monster suddenly charged towards me. I ducked his jackhammer weapon and struck his arm away before catching him with a blow to the head. The monster staggered back, but I saw his head-lamp glowing and leaped to safety as the creature fired.

"Alpha," I began, raising my wrist, "Scott was right." Digster swung high but I caught his fist with my free hand and struck it away before retaliating. "Unknowns make for bad science. We don't know any of the variables here. I can't put the puzzle together yet." The monster fired again, and I backflipped out of harm's way, landing across the street. Digster clanked after me but I found my footing and kicked high, forcing the creature back.

"Where should we start?" Alpha's voice crackled through.

"Make a list of all the industrial applications for large diamonds, regardless of colour or country of origin," I began. Digster swung his jackhammer weapon again and I ducked the move. Batting away a low kick, I aimed a sharp jab for the creature's face and damaged his optic sensors.

"That might be a long list," Alpha replied.

"We know Gasket's intentions are hostile," I said. "Start with that theory and work backwards."

With Digster still blinded, a cog charged towards me, but Scott leaped forward, blocking the cog's staff with his own and taking the robot down with a blow to the head.

"Focus Bill!" Scott said. "Fight evil, _then_ talk to Alpha!"

"Time is a factor here," I replied. "I'm multi-tasking!"

Another cog lurched towards me and I kicked the robot into a nearby shop. What was left of the building's front window shattered, and I looked up to see it was a jewellery boutique. With that, I thought of Trini and our mission to South Africa.

"Alpha," I said quickly. "Forget everything I just said. The research facility in Johannesburg that Trini and I defended last week? Get into their system, and tell me about their current research projects."

"Got it!" Alpha replied. "There's a…"

"One minute," I said, as Digster recovered from my earlier blow. "Zeo flying power kick!" Blue energy wrapped around me and I took to the air, flying across the battleground and slamming my boot into the monster's head. Digster crashed to the ground thirty feet away in sparking ruin, and I nodded to myself. The other Rangers continued fighting around me. "Go Alpha."

"The first two floors were devoted to medical research," Alpha began, "and the third floor was a genetic experimentation lab. But the fourth floor was occupied by a research project about focussing sunlight through specially-cut diamonds to produce laser beams of intense heat and power."

And just like that, the pieces fell into place.

 _I knew what Gasket was planning._

Beside me, Trini kicked away a towering troll. "You figured it out?" she asked.

"Affirmative!" I shouted. "Gasket built some kind of laser-based weapon, but he needs a specific type of diamond to focus the beam. They tried to steal one in Johannesburg, and when that plan failed, they studied old folklore, found a second diamond and stole the scroll from the museum to learn its location."

The two younger Rangers regrouped around Trini and I. "So they've built a giant laser cannon?" Peter asked, then glanced to Scott. "No wonder they wanted to lure us out into the open. But if that thing fires, it'll turn the city into a crater. Any idea where this thing is?"

"The Machine Empire isn't known for subtlety," I said. "But they are very efficient. If they need sunlight, they wouldn't even bother building it here on Earth. Alpha, scan Earth's orbit. I'll bet my shard of the Zeo Crystal that's where it'll be."

"Got it!" Alpha replied. "You were right Billy! There's a large satellite in geosynchronous orbit above the city that we can't identify! But it's shielded. If we hadn't been looking for it, we wouldn't have found it. From the energy levels we're reading, it's targeting. Ayeyiyi Rangers! You might have minutes before it fires!"

"You two protect the city!" Peter said. "Scott and I will take out that satellite!"

"You can't destroy it," Trini said. "We need the jewel."

"Easy then," Scott said, and turned to Peter. "All yours bud."

Peter raised his hand to the sky. "Phoenix Zeo zord, now!"

A wild screech echoed through the concrete canyons of the city, and the Phoenix Zeo zord shot down out of the clouds, cruising low over the city towards us. In twin streaks of orange and green, Peter and Scott teleported up into the zord, materialising in the cockpit a second later. Scott strapped himself in while Peter took the controls and steered the zord straight up into the clouds.

Trini and I looked back to our assembled enemies as the Phoenix disappeared into the sky, instantly falling back-to-back to keep an eye on the machines and the Troll King's forces.

"Well let's be honest," I said, "we've triumphed against worse odds."

Trini laughed in spite of herself. "You always know what to say," she replied. "We don't need to beat them. We just need to keep them occupied until the boys get back with the diamond."

A commotion behind the Troll King's army caught our attention, and the crowd began rippling. I peered past the trolls and ogres facing us to see the crowd parting for three short goblins, each one holding a decorated bronze urn. As they reached the surface and held the urns up, I remembered where I'd seen them before. My face fell behind my visor.

"I doubt keeping their attention will be an insurmountable challenge," I said.

The lead goblin cackled triumphantly. "Revenge!" it screeched in a coarse, gravelly voice. "Revenge against the surface world!" With that, the goblins uncapped the three urns. Trini and I could only watch as a rush of stones clattered forth, rising into the air and multiplying. The avalanches defied both the laws of conventional space and gravity as they roared up into the sky. With a flash of ancient magic, three gargantuan rocky titans had formed before us, standing fifteen storeys tall and towering over the city. Their eyes glowed yellow, and their bodies were streaked with silver and brown minerals, their giant stone fists raised menacingly.

"At least the odds couldn't get any worse," Trini offered.

Even as she spoke, Orbus floated past us, landing on the road beside the sparking remains of Digster.

"You're down but not out!" the little machine cried, and blasted a bolt of radiation from his chest into the monster's body. The air above the street sizzled and hummed, and the machine suddenly expanded, fully restored and rejuvenated.

"Yeah, that was on me," Trini said.

As tall as the three mountainous titans, Digster gazed down at Trini and I and fired a blast from his head-lamp. The entire street erupted in sparks and smoke, forcing Trini and I to leap to safety. Finding her bearings, Trini raised her communicator.

"Alpha, we need the Super Zeo zords, now!"

Far away on the side of a mountain deep in the desert, a gigantic panel rolled back and the yellow and blue Super Zeo zords shot into the sky, streaking through the air and down towards Brisbane. With the symbols on their chests glowing brightly, the two zords soon touched down in King George Square, towering over the city council building and raising their fists ready for battle.

"Let's go!" Trini said.

"Affirmative!" I replied.

We teleported into our zords and materialised in the cockpits a second later. With a clear view across the city through my zord's triangular helmet visor, I strapped myself in and reached for the controls. Super Zeo zord three spun to face Digster, while Trini steered Super Zeo zord two over towards the rocky titans.

"We need to stop these creatures now!" I called, the radio carrying my voice into the Yellow Ranger's zord.

"You got it!" Trini replied.

I held my ground as Digster approached, the zord's systems analysing the monster's abilities and determining any weaknesses. I've always admired my team-mates and friends, but I admit to being envious of those who were given humanoid zords to control. Tommy was a natural with the Dragonzord from the first day he piloted it, and the Dragonzord was a dangerous opponent as a result. The same can be said for Jason and the Tyrannosaurus, or even Ian with his Iguanodon. But in the cockpit of my Super Zeo zord, or even those brief few months when I'd piloted the blue Shogun zord, I'd been amazed to find my insecurities were unfounded. It had been easy.

I don't believe in destiny. At least, I never used to. But every time I sit in the cockpit of a zord? It hits me like a bolt from above. This was something we were _born_ to do.

Digster let out a metallic roar and thundered towards me. The ground shook with every gigantic footstep, and he lashed out with his jackhammer as he approached. I ducked the zord under the move and forced the monster back with a blow to the stomach. Digster recovered quickly and fired a blast from his head-lamp, but the zord powered through the barrage and slammed the monster back. While Digster was still off-balance, the zord swung a powerful punch for the monster's head-lamp, destroying the weapon in a shower of sparks. The monster staggered away, swinging blindly, but the zord caught the jackhammer with one hand and smashed it to pieces with the other, before slamming its fist into Digster's face. The monster crashed back, damaged, and before it could recover, the zord followed after it. The blue triangle on the Super Zeo zord's chest began shining, and a blast of energy scorched across the battlefield, smashing into the monster and tearing it apart in an explosion that echoed through the streets.

Across the city, the three rocky titans surrounded the yellow Super Zeo zord.

"Alpha," Trini began, gazing over the battlefield from the cockpit in the zord's head. "What do we have on those titans? Tell me everything."

The radio crackled a second later. "They're magical guardians given form through the Troll King's archaic magic," Alpha replied. "They've got no ranged attacks. All our readings are telling us they're just living rock. Essentially, they're walking mountains. Ayeyiyi! You know the thing about mountains?"

"They're strong," Trini said, and gritted her teeth. "But there are two million people in this city, Alpha. So today, _I get to be stronger_."

The titans closed in, their steps shaking the city, when two of them lashed out with twin side-by-side punches. The Super Zeo zord blocked both moves, striking away the titan on the left before landing two rapid punches to the titan on the right. The third titan roared forward like an avalanche and landed a powerful blow on the zord's chest. Trini quickly regained control of the zord, and the robot ducked another blow and stepped around a third. Keeping the zord moving, Trini forced the third titan back with a flurry of powerful blows to its stomach. By now the first two titans had recovered, and they thundered back towards their opponent. The zord caught the closest titan with a high punch, then sent it stumbling with a kick. The other titan aimed for the zord's head, but the zord ducked and the titan's arm sailed harmlessly past. When the titan swung again, Trini hit a switch on the control panel and the zord's jets fired, taking it up and over the creature. Before the titan could attack again, the descending Super Zeo zord landed a kick to the creature's face and threw it to the ground.

As the zord landed, one of the titans let out an angry roar and charged, but the zord spun to face the approaching beast. The yellow emblem on the zord's chest began glowing brightly. A second later, a blast of energy exploded from the symbol, roaring across the battlefield and slamming into the titan, instantly destroying the creature. Bellowing at the destruction of its team-mate, one of the two remaining titans thundered towards the zord, but the zord spun around and channelled the Zeo Crystal into another blast that reduced the rocky giant to rubble. Just as the third titan attacked, the blue Super Zeo zord dropped down before them, sending the beast crashing with a high kick.

"I couldn't let you have all the fun," I said.

"Thanks Billy," Trini said. "But I think…look!"

I glanced to the ground and immediately spotted what Trini had seen. On the street, the trolls and ogres were making way for another procession, a troop of new soldiers marching up from the shadowy underworld. Leading the regiment were four enormous trolls, the lead two carrying the Troll King's banner. All four creatures were seven-foot-tall behemoths of rage and power. Behind them, coming into view was a figure that towered over even them, more powerful and fearsome than all the others. He had a bronze crown perched lopsidedly above glowing red eyes and a savage, misshapen sneer. A dark, tattered cloak flapped in the breeze behind him, the cape fastened around his chest with a thick rusty chain. His face was twisted in primal rage. I swallowed.

"Oh no," I murmured. "He's arrived on the surface to lead the invasion."

"Who?" Trini asked. "Who is that?"

"The Troll King himself," I said.

 _To be continued._


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's notes – Hey everyone, thanks again for reading! Like I said earlier, I wanted to write this story so that the geeky Rangers would all get major moments of badassedness (is that a word? It is now). So Scott, Trini and Billy get to be completely awesome today. Also, the Rangers have actually met the Troll King twice before (in two stories I haven't written yet), but for this story, they're all visibly nervous about having to deal with this guy. Now that the Troll King's actually made an appearance, you'll see why. Anyway, second-last chapter, so I hope you enjoy! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

High above us, the Phoenix Zeo zord shot into the sky, following the course programmed by Alpha and Zordon. In the cockpit, Peter and Scott gazed through the windows as the atmosphere outside grew darker and darker, before falling away completely as they reached the empty vacuum of space. In the distance was the moon, with the long curve of the Milky Way behind, but hovering directly in front of them was an enormous cog-shaped spaceship. Although it normally would've been rotating around a central array of spikes and antenna, the ship seemed motionless, but they both saw the ominous arrangement of mirrors on the satellite's roof.

"A gearship!" Peter exclaimed.

"They must've scavenged one of the gearships we destroyed and repurposed it," Scott said.

"At least we know the weapons room is in the middle," Peter added, then glanced to a monitor on the console. "According to this, there's a forcefield around the ship. Teleporting's not an option."

"So I'll have to get onboard the old fashioned way?" Scott asked. "Damn."

As the zord soared towards the gearship, Peter aimed the zord's weapons for the side of the satellite and fired. Missiles roared forth from the Phoenix and slammed into the side of the gearship, rocking the satellite and tearing open a hole in the hull. Peter nodded, but his face fell behind his visor as a squadron of quadrafighters dipped into view and began firing. The Phoenix's fuselage erupted in sparks and Peter banked the zord sharply to avoid a second wave. Once clear, he returned fire and took out two of the opposing fighters.

"We don't have time for a dogfight," Peter said. "You get the jewel. I'll deal with the quadrafighters."

Scott unbuckled his seatbelt and stumbled over to the airlock as Peter continued steering the Phoenix around incoming fire.

"Get me as close as you can," Scott called.

"If you overshoot, teleport back and try again," Peter replied.

"That thing's about to fire!" Scott said. "We don't have time to try this twice!"

Taking the zord around on a wide approach to the satellite, Peter smiled beneath his helmet. "Aren't you glad Zordon made us do all that anti-gravity combat training a few years ago?" he asked.

Scott nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Glad is the emotion I'm feeling right now."

The Green Ranger hit a panel on the wall and the airlock sealed shut behind him. Crouching down, he wrapped his arm around the bar anchored to the wall and punched the button on the other side. The outer panel flew open. There was a rush of wind for half a second as the air raced outside, and then nothing. The gear-shaped satellite was hovering in the vacuum nearby. All around were explosions, debris and quadrafighters flashing past in a wild blur. It should've been noisy; it should've been deafening, but it wasn't. It was the one thing about space Scott never got used to.

The Phoenix was only a few hundred metres away from the gearship and closing in fast. Scott held on for dear life as the Phoenix weaved around incoming fire from the attacking quadrafighters. Banking right to destroy two more jets, Peter brought the Phoenix to a dead stop. The gearship was so close, it was the only thing Scott could see in front of him. The zord held still for a second longer, and with the same legs that could vault the sides of buildings, Scott leaped out of the zord into the vacuum, straight towards the gearship. Behind him, the Phoenix shot away, the outer hatch sealing shut. All around him were quadrafighters and debris from the dogfight, while far below was the crystal blue of the Earth's atmosphere.

The quadrafighters zipping past him suddenly noticed the lone Green Ranger and turned after him in pursuit. He felt the slight tug of the Earth's gravity, but as he got closer to the gearship, he knew he'd judged the jump perfectly. Reaching the satellite, he grabbed the hull and swung himself inside through the damaged panel. Bouncing off a wall, he adjusted his aim and dived through a doorway into the next room. Catching the door, he slammed his hand against the panel he knew would be there to trigger the gearship's safety protocols. The robots were immune to the effects of a hard vacuum but their allies often weren't, and Scott let out a sigh of relief when the door sealed shut behind him and the artificial gravity switched back on.

He dropped to the ground as another door swung open and a troop of cogs ran into the room to surround him.

"Sorry boys," Scott said, "but I really don't have time for a fight."

The robotic soldiers ignored him and immediately attacked. Scott blocked a kick from the right and shattered the cog's body with a powerful punch. Striking away a second enemy, he dodged a sharp jab and threw away a third, moving forward with every step. While still trading blows, he saw the interior of the gearship had been stripped clean, letting him see all the way through to the wide chamber in the ship's centre. The roof was covered by an array of silver mirrors, angling sunlight to the console beneath where a red jewel the size of a soccer ball was plugged into the computer.

"Bingo," he said.

Clearing a path through the cogs, he charged towards the centre of the gearship. Reaching the control room, he raced over to the central console as the cogs around him turned to each other in surprise.

"Sorry guys, but this is not yours!" Scott said. He shattered the console with a punch and instantly freed the diamond.

Metallic voices echoed out behind him as alarms began to sound. "No! Stop the Green Zeo Ranger!"

Scott ignored the growing commotion and grabbed the jewel. It was a lot heavier than it looked. The mirrors above his head were glowing too brightly to look at, and he knew he had to get out of there. Turning to the cogs behind him, he gave them a mock salute.

"Later boys," he said.

Even as they fired, he was already racing back towards the hull. As the satellite's interior went up in sparks behind him, he reached for his pistol and punched a hole in the outer panel of the gearship. With one arm still clutching the diamond, he grit his teeth and took to the air, leaping back out into the vacuum just as the targeting mirrors fired. Without the diamond to focus the beam, the blast punched down through the bottom of the ship, obliterating the command room and tearing the gearship apart.

As the satellite blasted itself to pieces, Scott hurtled through the void, hoping like hell Peter had guessed his escape plan. But a giant shadow suddenly fell over him, and the Phoenix zord swooped low with the hatch on its stomach open, catching the Green Ranger before pulling up. Scott bounced against the walls as the hatch slammed shut behind him. A second later, the airlock opened above his head. He heaved the diamond up onto the floor and clambered into the zord proper, to see the Orange Ranger still in the cockpit.

"Dude, sorry!" Peter called, steering the zord through the wreckage of the gearship. "That may have been a rough pick-up, but I had to fly _through_ the exploding spaceship. You were faster than I thought you'd be!"

Scott laughed and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "That was awesome!" he said. "What about the quadrafighters?"

"Nuts and bolts," Peter said. "Please tell me you have the jewel?"

Scott glanced to the floor. "I just kicked my big toe against it."

"Great job," Peter replied. "Then we need to get it to Bill and Trini, fast!"

* * *

In the cockpit of my Super Zeo zord, I looked to Trini's zord. "You take care of the last titan," I said. "I'll handle the Troll King."

"But Billy…" Trini began.

"I know," I said. "But until the boys get back, we don't have many options."

"That's not what I was going to tell you."

"Well what were you going to say?"

"I love you too Billy."

I allowed myself a slight smile, then reached for my communicator and teleported down to the street, materialising on the road a second later. The four leading trolls gazed down over me with contempt, their angry sneers revealing jagged, yellow teeth. I couldn't help but notice on all sides, the lower-ranking goblins and ogres were giving us a wide-berth. Even they were reacting with fear to the appearance of their king and his elite guard. That couldn't have been a good sign.

I stood my ground and raised my fists, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"Stand down," I said. "We are not your enemy! We can work together to fight the true threat…"

"You _dare_ dictate a course of action to our king?!" the closest troll bellowed. The banner he was holding was trembling with his rage. "You will pay for your disrespect!"

They weren't going to listen to reason.

It's such a shame. They never do.

"Power Lance!" I called, and my lance appeared in my hands in a flash of blue light. The trolls roared defiantly and thundered towards me.

The closest troll swung his banner straight for me. I caught the spear with my lance and batted it away before carving the blade across the creature's chest, sending the troll crashing in a shower of sparks. While I was still off-balance, the second troll lunged, and I narrowly dodged an enormous fist before kicking high, slamming my boot into the creature's head and throwing him away. As I dropped to the ground, the third troll attacked, and I ducked one blow, stepped around a second and dodged a third, before a spinning back kick launched the creature through a nearby shopfront. The ground shook beneath me as the fourth and largest troll closed in, and I ducked instinctively as a punch whistled over my head. He swung again and I blocked his arm with my lance, catching him with a powerful uppercut that sent him head-over-heels to the ground.

The trolls climbed to their feet, dazed and stunned. Shadow fell, and I spun around to see the Troll King himself towering over me. I'd never been this close to him before, but the Rangers who had once told me that he was a terrifying opponent.

They had not been incorrect.

I tightened my grip on my Power Lance as the Troll King gazed down over me. He reached for his belt and unsheathed an enormous bronze sword. The blade was chipped and scarred from previous battles. I could tell instantly there was no magic in the weapon. This was a sword forged to be used, and the danger lay in the strength of the warrior wielding it.

"Please listen to me!" I urged. "This is all a misunderstanding! We didn't steal your diamond. The Machine Empire did. It's not even here on Earth. My friends are retrieving it, right now, and if you can just be patient for a minute longer, we can resolve this without the need for further violence." I swept my arms around the ruined street. "Hasn't there been enough already?"

"Enough!" roared the Troll King. "I will not listen to this a second longer! You offer me excuses? **I don't care!** "

Without wasting another second, the Troll King carved his blade towards me. I leaped to safety with a centimetre to spare as the blade sliced through a car that'd been behind me. I found my footing and the Troll King swung his arm, catching me with the flat of the blade and slamming me through the front of a building. With a roar of battle, the king charged after me. I took a second to clear my head before leaping out of the debris as the Troll King followed after me, swinging his sword with every step. I spun around and kicked high, but he batted away my boot and slashed his blade as I landed. I struck the weapon away with my lance and landed a rapid blow to the Troll King's stomach, but he barely noticed and lashed out with a powerful punch. I spun out of range, avoiding the blow by a second. A large piece of rubble lay on the road by his foot, and he kicked the rock straight for me. I shattered it in midair with my lance then held my ground, waiting for the follow-up blow that didn't come.

We circled each other on the street with the Troll King's army watching on. As I caught my breath, I wondered why the Troll King wasn't attacking, when I noticed the beads of sweat on his forehead. I smiled under my helmet. He was incredibly strong, certainly. But the Troll King wasn't used to fighting under the midday sun, and it was taking more out of him than he thought.

He was tiring out fast.

And I suddenly realised I stood a chance of surviving this.

Hesitating a second longer, I took to the air, leaping back towards him with a high kick. He backed away quickly as I came down, retaliating with a wide arc from his sword. I stepped around the blade, dodging a second blow then ducking a third. He carved the sword towards me and I somersaulted sideways over the blade. He roared and followed after me, raising his sword high. I held my position a fraction of a second longer than I should've, giving him an obvious target to aim for and leaping out of danger as he swung again. The move was clumsy, slow and laboured. He was losing half a second with every swing, and I continued dodging his attacks, staying a step ahead of him and letting him tire himself out. He swung high but I batted the blade away and pressed forward. Finally, he swung the blade in a wide overhead arc, but I raised my lance, braced my legs and caught the sword in a shower of sparks. With a twist of my arm, I wrenched the weapon out of his grasp and it clattered to the ground behind me. Before he could recover, I spun the lance over my head, and the Troll King found the bladed prongs a centimetre away from his throat.

I held the Troll King in place as the crowd of ogres and goblins froze in disbelief, their jeers and shouts fading away in a second.

"I understand that you're angry," I said slowly, my voice growing louder with every word. "But king or not, you will _not_ take it out on the people of this city. Not today and not ever. Do you understand _that_?"

A block away on Elizabeth Street, Trini pushed her Super Zeo zord after the last remaining titan. The beast aimed high, but the zord struck away the creature's fist and landed a powerful blow to the chest, cracking the titan's rocky exterior. The beast roared and retaliated. The zord blocked the move, slamming its right fist into the beast's stomach before forcing the titan back with a powerful backhand. The creature staggered away and the zord followed after it, landing blow after blow with every step. Reaching the treasury casino, a powerful punch cracked the titan's body even further, before one final blow shattered the creature to rubble that rained down over the Brisbane River, sending waves surging up against the museum on the southern bank.

Trini turned to the street where I'd confronted the Troll King when a shadow fell over the city. She looked up to see the Zeo Phoenix soaring down out of the sky.

She reached for the radio. "Do you have the jewel?" she asked.

"I'm holding it in my hands right now," Scott's voice came through. "The ship was destroyed too, so they can't try again any time soon. Where's Bill?"

"He's down fighting the Troll King," Trini replied. "He needs you! Hurry!"

"On it," came Peter's voice. Trini watched as the Phoenix dropped between the city's buildings and touched down lightly in Post Office Square. Reaching for her wrist, she teleported out of her zord and materialised on the street as a hatch opened in the side of the Phoenix. The Orange and Green Rangers ran outside, and she saw that Scott was holding the second largest diamond she'd ever seen. The three Rangers gazed around quickly, when they saw the Troll King and I locked in a tense stand-off.

"Troll King!" Scott shouted. "We've got it! We've got the jewel!"

The three Rangers ran to my side as the Troll King looked past me. I saw his eyes widen as he glanced from the jewel to me and then back again. It felt like forever, but finally, he relaxed and stepped back. I lowered my lance and backed away.

"My diamond," he growled. The Troll King brushed past me and snatched it out of Scott's hands, stopping to retrieve his sword where it had fallen.

"Guard it carefully," I said. "The machines know you have it. They may very well try again."

Silence fell as the Troll King stepped toward his troops, and we held our breaths nervously. Finally he looked back to us, then raised his hand. "Fall back," he called. "We have what we wanted. Fall back to the quiet depths."

Without a single murmur of dissent, the Troll King's troops obeyed their leader, marching back down into the cavern they'd emerged from earlier that day. The Troll King sent one final glare our way, then shook his head.

"You're welcome," Peter called.

The Troll King sneered. "You expect gratitude?" he rumbled. "For returning to me something that was one of my possessions in the first place? That would never have been taken were it not for your conflict with these alien machines? Your ineptness staggers me! I should…"

Shadow fell as the blue and yellow Super Zeo zords took two enormous strides towards the Troll King and his remaining troops. The ground shook with their titanic steps. Towering over us, the zords crossed their arms and gazed down over the crowd. I glanced from the zords behind us to the Troll King, and watched as his expression faded.

"Whatever course of action you decide upon, good fortune with that," I said, smiling under my helmet.

"Fine," the Troll King growled, and he began making his way back towards the grotto. "Next time we meet, we'll be enemies, you surface-crawling, sunburned simpletons." Following the last of his troops, the Troll King stormed away and disappeared into the shadows as we stood watching. The city once again fell silent.

"He's a monarch for the people, really, isn't he?" Scott said, and we laughed.

"Still, the Machine Empire threat was neutralised and the subterranean invasion was halted in its tracks," I said, and gazed around my team-mates. "Excellent work friends. We did it!"

 _To be concluded._


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's notes – Here's the final chapter. Thanks everybody for reading! I really loved writing Billy's POV story, because I adore the character of Billy (and I love Billy and Trini as a couple), so I hope everybody else did too. At the moment I'm working on writing Trini's story (and I've got some great ideas for that one), with Zac's story hopefully sometime this year as well. Anyway, see you next time! :)  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

Trini, Scott, Peter and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up in the city before reporting to Zordon and Alpha about everything that had happened, both underground and high above it. Teleporting back to the city, we collapsed the tunnel that led underground to prevent it from being used again, before doing the same thing to the passage under Mount Mitchell. After demorphing, Trini told us she needed to return to the university. Wishing her well, Peter, Scott and I returned to Caloundra.

We materialised in a quiet alley and ran back towards the jewellery boutique.

"I hope the ring is still there," Scott panted.

"What are the odds that two people with unlimited funds both wanted to buy that one particular ring on the same day?" Peter asked.

Reaching the shop, we pulled open the door and jogged inside. I ran my gaze hopefully over the display of engagement rings, but my face fell.

"Apparently better than even," I murmured.

The ring was gone. The only thing left was the little white price tag.

"No way," Peter said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "We were only gone for a few hours."

"Six," Scott corrected.

"We were only gone for six hours," Peter continued. "Let me check." Scott and I watched as he stepped over to one of the sales clerks. We didn't hear the conversation, but he soon made his way back towards us. He looked crestfallen.

"Sorry Bill," he said softly. "We missed it completely. Some guy bought it not ten minutes after we left this morning."

We stepped back outside, and I sagged against the window. "I'm sorry gents," I said. "I really do appreciate your help today. But it had to be perfect, you know? It had to be perfect for her. And that ring _was_ perfect, at least, it was as close as I could find."

Scott smiled and lowered his voice. "Well maybe not," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What did you learn from Trini today?" he asked.

I looked up, and laughed softly. "The same thing she teaches me every day, if only I was smart enough to listen," I said. "Some things aren't logical, rational or scientific. Sometimes, you listen to your heart and not your head."

"So what's your heart telling you?" Peter asked.

"That the only thing that matters is the answer, not the trappings of the question," I replied, and offered my two younger friends a warm embrace. "And my gratitude to both of you for helping me remember that. Let's get out of here."

* * *

That night, I was sitting at the kitchen counter putting the finishing touches on the juice machine when I heard the door open. I looked up as Dad walked into the room. Seeing me, he rested a hand on my shoulder, and dropped his coat and briefcase on the chair beside the door.

"Evening Will," he said, and nodded to the table. "How goes the juice machine?"

"Making the right amount of pulp at last," I replied.

Dad smiled. "I'd hoped to catch up to you tonight," he said. He stepped over to the fridge. "I see one of us had an eventful day today."

"That's a fair observation," I said.

"And you're okay?"

"No injuries to speak of, thankfully," I replied. "There were no casualties and little damage to the city. Believe me, we've had worse days. Trini and I make an excellent team, and the boys do as well. The Machine Empire's plot was thwarted, and the Troll King's invasion was successfully repelled. And debris from the satellite burned up on re-entry over the desert." I sat back in my chair as Dad poured himself a drink. "The Troll King represents a fascinating part of the world. It's such a pity. Why are the most interesting people always so hostile?"

Dad laughed. "Son, when you figure that out, you'll be a smarter man than I am," he replied.

"I'll put it on the list for tomorrow," I said.

"So I've been dying to ask," Dad continued. "How'd your other project go?"

"Not as successfully, I'm afraid," I replied. "I found the engagement ring I wanted, but while we were defending Brisbane from the Troll King, some fortunate customer decided to purchase the ring before I had the chance."

"I thought that might happen," Dad said, "so I had an idea." He reached into his pocket and placed a small case lined with navy velvet on the counter. "No pressure, but it's yours if you want it."

I opened the case to reveal a beautiful golden ring with a yellow jewel staring back at me. My eyes went wide. "Dad, this is…"

"An engagement ring, yes," Dad replied, and stepped closer. "The one I gave to your mother, as it turns out."

"It's beautiful," I said. "This is a lovely gesture, and I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't accept this."

"Why not?" Dad asked. "I never met anybody after your mother, and she would've wanted you to have it. I know she would've. And you know as well as I do that she would've adored Trini, and she would've been so proud of you Will. I know I am."

I closed the case. "Thank you," I said. "For everything, thank you. Actually, the ring's perfect. We'll need to get the size adjusted, but that jewel? I've never seen anything like it. And I've seen a few."

"It's a yellow sapphire," Dad replied. "Not quite as rare and beautiful as your mother, but it was close. Funny story about the jewel…"

Just then, my communicator beeped. I looked down to my wrist awkwardly.

"You better get that," Dad smiled.

I raised my wrist. "Billy here," I said.

"Billy?" came Trini's voice. "I'm glad to reach you. The other Rangers just got back from their trip. They touched down in the Command Centre a few minutes ago."

"I'll meet you there," I said, and the communicator fell silent.

I looked back to my father, but he was grinning. "Go save the world," he said.

"Thanks," I replied. Leaving the juice machine on the counter, I tapped my communicator and disappeared in a flash of blue. Once I was gone, Dad reached for the glass of orange juice I'd left on the bench and took a sip.

"Perfect," he said.

* * *

Honestly?

I'm still unsure about the future and everything that may or may not happen. But despite that, there's one truth I hold, with absolute certainty, in both my head and my heart. Whether it's tomorrow or whether it's six months from now, I am going to propose to the love of my life. I'm going to ask Trini Kwan to spend the rest of her life with me. And although I've never been able to predict the future, I'm more certain than ever of a favourable outcome.

My name is Billy Cranston.

I'm the Blue Ranger.

And although the future for the Rangers is always uncertain, very soon, I'm going to be the happiest man in the world.

 _The End._


End file.
